Robert Burns of Baton Rouge, a former fraud investigator, has agreed to join LouisianaVoice as an underpaid (read: gratis) researcher and contributing writer. His initial series of stories will chronicle his experiences as a member of the Louisiana Auctioneer Licensing Board.

—Tom Aswell

By Robert Burns

LouisianaVoice writer

Following up on Tom Aswell’s recent posts regarding the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry, there is another State Board with an extensive history of questionable activity: The Louisiana Auctioneer Licensing Board (LALB). The board is comprised of five auctioneers and two at-large “consumer” members. The board’s actions include turning a blind eye to an illegal practice called “shill bidding,” ignoring the apparent victimization of elderly auction clients, racism and possible travel voucher and payroll fraud.

In early 2008, Gov. Bobby Jindal appointed me and a very good friend, Rev. Freddie Phillips (Louisiana’s first and only African American auctioneer) to the LALB. Rev. Phillips and I each endured relatively short, tumultuous tenures on the LALB due to our observations of abuse and the fact that we did not (and do not) hold back in voicing our displeasure with that abuse.

In fact, sensing that Louisiana’s then-only auctioneer trade association, the Louisiana Auctioneer’s Association (LAA), seemed to openly encourage these practices (particularly shill bidding), Rev. Phillips decided to form a second association, the Louisiana Association of Professional Auctioneers (LAPA). Although he invited any auctioneer willing to adhere to LAPA’s strict code of ethics to join only two others, myself and auctioneer JonEric Kramer, did so. Other auctioneers, and especially LALB Members, became furious that LAPA’s website, Rev. Phillips’ brainchild, so readily exposes widespread unethical activity within the auction industry.

My post for today focuses on the issue dearest to me: shill bidding.

LAPA’s first tenet is vigorous opposition to shill bidding, an illegal auction practice in which plants are placed in the audience by the auctioneer or seller for the sole purpose of driving up the bid with no intention to buy the property. The practice is illegal unless it is divulged to the auction bidders; however, the practice is pandemic in Louisiana’s auction industry. In my opinion, shill bidding is literally destroying the auction industry. The entire auction process hinges on the public being able to rely upon that process for market transparency. When shills are introduced, the transparency is destroyed and the public rapidly becomes cynical and justifiably distrustful of auctioneers.

My testimony led to immediate actions by LALB Members and the auctioneer community to have me removed from the LALB. First, then-LALB Chairman James Kenneth Comer sought to have ethics charges brought against me for my testimony. Ironically, in the weeks leading up to my testimony, LALB Executive Director Sandy Edmonds was actively recruiting auctioneers via phone, including me, to testify against the bill (she was doing so at the behest of then-Chairman Comer). Rev. Phillips received a similar phone call, and I confirmed that prominent Kenner-based real estate auctioneer Dave Gilmore had also gotten such a call. So, Chairman Comer, through Ms. Edmonds, was actively recruiting auctioneers to testify against the bill, a practice which is clearly an ethical violation (to recruit either for or against), yet he would seek to have ethics charges against me for my testimony in favor of the bill. The Ethics Board quickly relayed that I had in no way committed an ethics violation as I was “expressing (my) opinion regarding shill bidding and not those of the LALB.”

Immediately after my testimony in favor of Baldone’s bill, I was approached by several auctioneers in the hallway. One of the auctioneers, State Rep. John E. “Johnny” Guinn (R-Jennings), used profanity in berating me over my testimony. The incident got so bad that I filed a police report with Capitol Police. The officer who took my report relayed that he personally delivered it to then-House Speaker Jim Tucker. The officer relayed to me that Speaker Tucker was furious over Guinn’s conduct. Speaker Tucker, in turn, delivered the police report to Jindal’s office, and that was the last I ever heard of it. However, I have strong reason to believe that my filing clearly infuriated Guinn as evidenced by Guinn mailing this letter to Gov. Jindal seeking my removal from the LALB. Nine days later, Jindal complied and sought my resignation. His “Special Assistant,” Jonathan Ringo (who now is an associate attorney with Jimmy Faircloth’s firm), upon my asking him why my resignation was being sought, said only that “things just aren’t working out.” When I refused to resign, Gov. Jindal terminated my services effective September 10, 2010.

As I’ll demonstrate in my next installment, my shill bidding testimony was likely not the only reason Jindal removed me from the LALB. I was complaining bitterly to his office regarding my observation of blatant racism on the LALB regarding Rev. Phillips.

That’s a great characterization, Bob, and I chose a similar analogy: the Mafia!! In fact, here’s the link for a video of me publicly making that comparison and demonstrating the similarities between the LALB & the Mafia: http://youtu.be/ky2MCDoVIEY. Trust me, I’ve got PLENTY more to reveal, and I think you’ll find the next few installments very, very intriguing!! Thanks for the post, Bob, and, if you attend a Louisiana auction, don’t hesitate to ask the auctioneer straight up what (if anything) he or she is doing to protect against shill bidding!!

Thank you, Robert. This group of booby’s is no different that any other administration in the past. His hypocritical “gold standard” when it comes to ethics needs to come out into the light of day to out-of-state news sources. If he’s going to out and out lie on national tv they need to know the truth when they interview him.

You and Mr. Aswell have brought to light a number of unethical activities within our state government. Why is it that, with the exception of a few of us that read this blog and mention it to our friends, no one seems to care and more than likely nothing at all will come of this enlightenment?

I agree with Ken. It Is frustrating when my friends have the attitude that if the stories don’t make it to the Advocate, they must be fictional. Having worked for the state for over 20 years and then terminated for providing requested budgetary information to my local senator, I am probably overly sensitive to these issues. However, that doesn’t excuse the general public from what seems to be a complete lack of interest in what this governor is doing to our state.

I think the difference between the dental board situation and the auctioneer board is that most dentists have NO idea what the dental board has been doing. The things they have done are unimaginable. In regards to Schaffer, one dentist told me that he would never believe it if he didn’t already KNOW it was true. I mean, this is Grisham novel stuff!

It seems like the LALB is protecting its members by turning a blind eye to an ethically questionable but industry-accepted practice…and actually coming after anyone that stands up for justice. The auction attendees (the public the board exists to defend) are the ones getting screwed.

Neither board could give a crap about public interests. Would we really be worse off if we scrapped them both?

While these professional/occupational boards and commissions put on the mantle of state government to give the appearance of officialdom (like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,but on a smaller scale), they support and control themselves (with very limited legislative oversight). If they engage in unethical and/or illegal activities and their dues-paying members don’t put a stop to them, our courageous (TIC) legislators should simply repeal the laws that authorize them as state entities. They could remain professional/occupational associations, but they would just be private, non-profit corporations subject to registration with the Secretary of State and to the pertinent state and federal laws.

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